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Stoke City v Dynamo Kiev: Upson wants breathing space

Peter Lansley

December 1 2011, 12:01am, The Times

Upson and Stoke need a point to progressAlex Livesey/Getty Images

Matthew Upson has called on Stoke City to seal qualification from their Europa League group with a game to spare tonight to avoid needing a result against Besiktas in the hostile environment of Istanbul next month.

A point against Dynamo Kiev, the Ukrainian league leaders, would guarantee that Tony Pulis’s team progress to the last 32; victory would give Stoke first place in group E and could eliminate Kiev. Defeat, however, would leave them sweating on the results of Besiktas, whom they face on December 14.

“This is a massive game for us, to try and get a result to secure our place in the next stage,” Upson, the former England defender, said. “Our fixture away to Besiktas is a really tough one, so we…